Mr Punter

150mm deep should be good. Cut the path back neatly with a grinder. Fill the channel with shingle or use an Aco type drain.

I would remove the willow now and replace it with something that will not cause issues for your future plans.

Once you cut back the path and either fill with shingle or have a channel drain the wall should dry out. I would be wary of doing any rendering until it is bone dry for at least 6 months.

It is sometimes simpler to shape the ends of the joists so they can just sit on the lower flange of the beam, rather than using hangers. Fill in the gaps between to joists to stop them moving or twisting.

You could consider a flitch beam, using 10mm steel plate sandwiched between two timbers, bolted every 400mm. A fair bit lighter than an equivalent steel beam or column section and you can fit joist hangers easily.

I have only seen them 2400. You could do a drop ceiling / concealed lighting / extractor at the top? Quite a hassle compared to just having a taller panel though.

3" joists sound really weedy. Is the floor bouncy or deflecting?

If this is a shared chimney stack it would be useful to see if your neighbour's has been altered.

I would rather crap in a bucket and take it to work with me to empty. Get it done properly in soil pipe if even remotely possible.

That sounds crazy. Get more quotes.

I'm quite surprised building regs are interested in a connie. They normally want it with a door to the main house and no fixed heating. Have you needed to supply SAP calcs?

I think some lenders and insurers don't like spray foam in the roof as there have been cases of poor installation and specification where the timbers have been affected.

With a bit of thought I don't see any particular issues. Make sure the correct agreements, rights, obligations and consents are in place. Bear in mind that one party may dispose of their part and another take over.

The OP potentially needs evidence in Court and BC opinion carries much weight at little cost.

The applicant is asking the supplier to sort this in order to comply with regs. I often apply for building regs and the inspector is not expecting me to personally rectify any issues, but to get my contractors to do it.

The OP would be the applicant and the BC inspection would report that the excessive movement of the balustrade is unacceptable.

You could do but it will be very expensive. You could see if Building Control will get involved, subject to you doing a building regs application with a fee around £350.

You need to write to the seller, tell them that the job is not satisfactory and give them the option to either put the work right or refund your money. If they refuse, take them to court. You probably will not need the expense of an expert witness, just the video would probably be decent evidence, but perhaps get someone else to film.

You can always use bricks or slate to make up height. Probably not worth cutting blocks down unless you have to, although no issue structurally. This morning I got 30 slates for the bricklayers so they can adjust coursing to some steelwork and joists without stupidly thick mortar beds. 50p a slate cash from the roofing merchants.

I think the tie may be at the bottom of the damp patch. You could run a grinder along the joint bed and see if you can locate the wall tie. It could be quicker to take the block out rather than core drill. Fingers crossed the beads are well bonded! Once it is rendered it will be dry.

Well I went with @Temp's suggestion and ended up with sand from Cornwall. With the shipping it cost a fortune but I had already bought the bricks and had them approved by Planning so no way of going back. I bought 2 tonne bags. Material was about £80, shipping £175 (2 pallets). I will need 2 more. I think it will dry a bit lighter than the photo but you can see in the foreground the colour of mortar made with our local sand would not have worked.

In May I was paying £6.50 a meter for 9 x 2 joists. Now £4.60. (Plus VAT) I am still probably being ripped off but it is less painful.

Plumbing is not my thing but those fittings look like they are in the wrong orientation. I looks like you are doing a below ground design but with above ground fittings.

Those scratches could have been made during manufacture of installation and only apparent after cleaning. We have lots of scratched panes on the larger windows, probably caused by fitters lying them down / dragging them around to install. Only noticeable in certain light but I am OK to ignore it. A development near me had loads of scratched glass and I think the installer ended up going bust. They are very difficult to remove.

I have only used it for the inner leaf of blockwork and it works out about £16 per linear metre. I guess for a 300mm sole plate it would be triple.